Icy cold fan unit

ABSTRACT

The fan unit of the present invention comprises a main body, a fan, an ice crate and a water collector. The main body comprises an internal space, an opening and a cover. A plurality of air inlets are provided on the main body. The fan is fixedly disposed in a front portion of the main body and is in communication with the internal space. In use, air is let in through the air inlets and then is cooled by the ice cubes. Next, the cooled air is blown out by the fan. Ice cubes are placed in the ice crate. In this manner, as the ice cubes melt, ambient air would be cooled down via convection and then the cooled air is blown out by the fan. In addition, a set of wheels are provided under the main body to allow the main body to move around easily.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to a fan unit. More particularly, the invention relates to an icy cold fan unit that may replace air conditioners or augment their cooling effect and that may be moved to different locations and may slash power bill.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In ancient times, humans used tree shades or natural breezes to cool themselves down. Then, hand-held fan was invented; by waving it, people may be cooled.

Later, electric fan was invented. With rotor blades in different shape and size, different types of fan emerged.

However, electric fan has a limited degree of cooling effect because in a hot environment, the air itself is quite hot and the circulation of the air would not have an effective cooling effect.

Therefore, air conditioner, in which air is cooled down and then let out, was invented. Air conditioner has been widely used and its number has been increasing drastically.

Then, with the rise of environmental awareness, people began to reconsider the use of air conditioners. The wide use of air conditioners would result in the over-consumption of energy resources in the modern days in which petroleum becomes scarce and alternative energy resources are not sufficiently provided.

In addition, heat generated by air conditioners and refrigerant used in refrigerant have serious adverse impacts on the environment.

To overcome these disadvantages, many people return to the use of electric fan. With the combination of electric fan and ice cubes, air may be cooled more effective; however, if such device is not well designed, air cooled by the ice cubes would escape or dissipate quickly. The inventor has put in a lot of effort in the subject and has successfully come up with the icy cold fan unit of the present invention to achieve the goal of cooling and also reduce the consumption of energy resources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an icy cold fan unit that is effective in lowering ambient temperatures, may reduce public's dependency on air conditioners and thus may reduce the consumption of energy.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an icy cold fan unit that is well designed and built and easy to use (a user only has to open its cover, place ice cubes in and then turn the fan on).

A third object of the present invention is to provide an icy cold fan unit that may substantially slash power bill and is useful in many places and especially places where air conditioners are not easy or convenient to be installed, such as auto repair shops, motorcycle repair shops, noodle shops, stir-fry shops, snack and beverage shops, sheet metal factories, lathe factories and carpentry factories. A fourth object of the present invention is to provide an icy cold fan unit that is mobile and thus may be moved to different placed for cooling.

The fan unit 10 of the present invention may be used in places where air conditioners are not easy or convenient to be installed. Moreover, because air conditioners are not mobile, several corners or spots may not be cooled down; in such cases, one or more fan units 10 of the present invention may be used for these corners or spots. Also, if the fan unit 10 of the present invention is used with an air conditioner, the former may reduce the latter's power consumption. Furthermore, it may be used to replace one or more air conditioners to slash power bill.

To reach these objects, the fan unit of the present invention is provided. The fan unit of the present invention comprises a main body, a fan, an ice crate and a water collector. The main body comprises an internal space, an opening and a cover. The opening is provided above the internal space and the cover may close the opening. A user may access the internal space by opening the cover. A plurality of air inlets are provided on the main body. The air inlets may be elongated slots and each of them may have a downwardly tilted design so that most of airborne fine dusts may be kept out of the main body. In addition, the air inlets are parallel to each other.

The fan is fixedly disposed in a front portion of the main body and is in communication with the internal space. In use, air is let in through the air inlets and then is cooled by the ice cubes. Next, the cooled air is blown out by the fan.

The ice crate is placed in the internal space through the opening. Ice cubes are placed in the ice crate. In this manner, as the ice cubes melt, ambient air would be cooled down via convection and the cooled air is blown out by the fan. Thanks to a plurality of holes provided on the ice crate, air may freely reach the ice cubes.

The water collector is disposed under the ice crate and may collect the water melted from the ice cubes so that the water would not flow to the ambient surrounding. The water collector extends outwardly from one side of the main body and thus may be taken out from there.

An air cooling space is provided between the ice crate and main body to allow the air in the space to be sufficiently cooled down by the ice cubes through convection before it is blown out by the fan.

A fixing unit is provided in the internal space to fix the ice crate and water collector.

A set of wheels are provided under the main body to allow the main body to move around easily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the icy cold fan unit of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of the icy cold fan unit of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the icy cold fan unit of the present invention in an assembled condition.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the icy cold fan unit of the present invention in an assembled condition.

List of reference numerals 10 Icy cold fan unit 1 Main body 11 Internal space 12 Opening 13 Cover 14 Air inlets 15 Air cooling space 16 Wheels 2 Fan 3 Ice crate 31 Holes 4 Water collector 5 Ice cubes 6 Fixing unit

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the icy cold fan unit 10 of the present invention comprises a main body 1, a fan 2, an ice crate 3 and a water collector 4.

The main body 1 comprises an internal space 11, an opening 12 and a cover 13. The opening 12 is provided above the internal space 11 and the cover 13 may close the opening 12. A user may access the internal space 11 by opening the cover 13.

A plurality of air inlets 14 are provided on the rear side or the right and left sides or all sides of the main body 1.

The air inlets 14 may be elongated slots and each of them may have a downwardly tilted design so that most of airborne fine dusts may be kept out of the main body 1. In addition, the air inlets 14 are parallel to each other.

The fan 2 is fixedly disposed in a front portion of the main body 1 and is in communication with the internal space 11. In use, air is let in through the air inlets 14 and then is cooled by the ice cubes. Next, the cooled air is blown out by the fan 2.

The ice crate 3 is placed in the internal space 11 through the opening 12. Ice cubes 5 are placed in the ice crate 3. In this manner, as the ice cubes 5 melt, ambient air would be cooled down via convection and the cooled air is blown out by the fan 2. Thanks to a plurality of holes 31 provided on the ice crate 3, air may freely reach the ice cubes 5.

The water collector 4 is disposed under the ice crate 3 and may collect the water melted from the ice cubes 5 so that the water would not flow to the ambient surrounding. The water collector 4 extends outwardly from one side of the main body 1 and thus may be taken out from there.

An air cooling space 15 is provided between the ice crate 3 and main body 1 to allow air in the space 15 to be sufficiently cooled down by the ice cubes 5 through convection before it is blown out by the fan 2.

A fixing unit 6 is provided in the internal space 11 to fix the ice crate 3 and water collector 4.

In addition, a set of wheels 16 are provided under the main body 1 to allow the main body 1 to move around easily.

The icy cold fan unit 10 of the present invention is useful in many places and especially places where air conditioners cannot be installed or are not easy or convenient to be installed or are too expensive to be installed, such as large open spaces and various types of factories. Because the fan unit 10 of the present invention is compact, it may be moved to different places to lower the temperatures. Therefore, the fan unit 10 of the present invention is mobile and highly effective in terms of cooling and may slash the power bill. It is also environmentally friendly.

In addition, the fan unit 10 of the present invention may be used with an air conditioner. Because air conditioners are not mobile, several corners or spots may not be cooled down; in such cases, one or more fan units 10 of the present invention may be used for these corners or spots. Moreover, if the fan unit 10 of the present invention is used with an air conditioner, the former may reduce the latter's power consumption.

Many changes and modifications in the above described embodiment of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An icy cold fan unit, comprising: a main body, which comprises an internal space, an opening and a cover, wherein the opening is provided above the internal space and the cover may close the opening, characterized in that a plurality of air inlets are provided on the main body; a fan, which is fixedly disposed in a front portion of the main body and is in communication with the internal space; an ice crate, which is placed in the internal space through the opening, wherein ice cubes are placed in the ice crate and a plurality of holes provided on the ice crate; and a water collector, which is disposed under the ice crate and may be taken out from one side of the main body.
 2. The icy cold fan unit as in claim 1, wherein an air cooling space is provided between the ice crate and main body to allow air in the space to be sufficiently cooled down by the ice cubes through convection before it is blown out by the fan.
 3. The icy cold fan unit as in claim 1, wherein the air inlets are provided on the rear side or the right and left sides of the main body.
 4. The icy cold fan unit as in claim 1, wherein the air inlets may be elongated slots and each of them may have a downwardly tilted design, characterized in that the air inlets are parallel to each other.
 5. The icy cold fan unit as in claim 1, wherein a fixing unit is provided in the internal space to fix the ice crate and water collector.
 6. The icy cold fan unit as in claim 1, wherein a set of wheels are provided under the main body to allow the main body to move around easily. 